One of the many frustrating realities of CFS is the recurrence of headaches. It’s not something I typically mention if anyone asks “what are the symptoms?” But there it is. Sometimes pounding my head for weeks. I can also go for years with the occasional headache. It’s one of those intermittent (meaning months on/off) realities. As an example: this past Saturday I went around all day feeling like someone had stuck a knife in my right temple. Throbbing horror. But I kept moving. Went to my daughter’s 18th birthday party, the second one and less focused on family. All I had to do was show up, thankfully. Teens, noise and non-stop activity. Headache’s worst scenario. By the time I got home all I could do was crawl in bed. Slowly. Carefully. I use transdermal magnesium nightly. It’s becoming quite a revolution for my CFS story, once again. (I had a magnesium flush-injection while pregnant 18 years ago and my CFS symptoms almost totally disappeared for a number of years.) I had done my usual routine with the magnesium oil but more liberally applied it to my body with high hopes for relief from all the other CFS realities I live with daily. But I was tossing and turning, the knife in my head keeping me awake. Finally, it occurred to me to put some of the magnesium directly on the “knife” in my head. Within minutes I passed out, the pain fading. I haven’t gone without this pain for 2 weeks. I might catch a break for a few hours in the morning but by noon or 2pm my head is pounding.

2 days now. Zero pain. As it turns out I’m not alone in this experience. Magnesium “oil” saves the day for quite a few headache sufferers.

Here’s my current  recommendation for the best product: http://www.ancient-minerals.com/products/magnesium-oil/

CFS/ME sufferers need to realize magnesium is essential to the production of ATP and this is pivotal to our recovery during times of reactivation. For CFS newbies this means those times CFS has flared up and taken over your life on significant levels.

As a result of that evening of dousing myself (drowning, more like) in the magnesium oil, I was able to go walking along NC’s Deep River with my sister. Two days of significant activity for a CFS veteran is risky business sometimes, especially while in recovery. I awakened today to no headache, no fatigue horror and no major pain.

Here’s to more magnesium and more living…

j. ruth kelly, all rights reserved, 2013